A bride of ice and steel
by Storylover Vodhr
Summary: A good tool does what is needed of it. A good tool provides for its master. A good tool does not care if it is loved or hated. A good tool exists only for its master.
1. Chapter 1

"So, uh, we're almost ready."

Haku didn't immediately respond to the man's words, instead focusing on her futile efforts to flatten out and salvage her torn and filthy robes and make herself look even vaguely presentable. She refused to dishonor him any further than she already had; She knew the risks and sacrifices he had to make just to keep her from the executioner's block.

Marriage. A permanent black mark on his future as a ninja. Continual check-ups and psyche evaluations, in case she proved to be as they feared- a spy or assassin in waiting. All just to keep her from being punished for her sins.

It was far more than she deserved. And, for the life of her, she still couldn't see why the boy was so determined to help her. She was a killer, a tool; her sins were innumerable, and the only "positive" she had was the remnants of her heart that made her dislike killing.

Yet, here she was. A tool, about to take a new master, rather than be buried beside her previous wielder.

It was more than she could comprehend.

But regardless of her understanding, she apparently still had a part to play in this world. A new master to serve.

And she would serve him well.

That thought was all that kept her sane.

"Thank you, Master Shinobi."

The man in question nodded awkwardly. He was, at the very least, polite, and he didn't seem all too happy with the situation either. Perhaps he didn't like the idea of an unknown ninja marrying into the village, or perhaps he genuinely thought that the situation was unjust. But to his credit, he didn't move to disobey his orders. Not a offer of drink nor food nor a cloth to wash herself. He stood firm, regardless of what he thought should be.

A true ninja.

"Hm. My name's Iruka."

Haku gave the smallest of nods in acknowledgement, before turning her head to the main door once more. Perhaps, Naruto would at least be given the freedom to clean himself and acquire some proper attire. While she could stomach the indignation the village leaders had thrust upon her, he did nothing to deserve such a punishment. Her newest master deserved the best, and Haku found herself praying that at least he would be spared the indignity of the situation.

And speaking of indignities, She could almost taste the politicking from here. The hastily thrown together plans and plots, the power games and struggles. Heck, even her painful and undignified state was a power game. She was being put metaphorically in her place, shown where she belonged in the village. Shown that she was still but a tool to be used, even when in their "mercy".

But at the same time, the smallest bit of the heart she still had left burned in indignation.

They couldn't even afford her a rag to wash herself before her wedding. Truly, the tales of the kind and benevolent Konoha village were exaggerated.

And so, here she was. Sitting painfully on the floor, unable to leave, move, or wash herself. Waiting for the metaphorical shoe to drop, covered in blood, grime, and filth, her previous kimono torn from battle and covered in the blood of both herself and her previous master. Unable to bind her numerous wounds and sate her hunger and thirst as they set up an extremely rushed wedding, one that had been accepted before they had even arrived in the village.

"So... Naruto, huh?"

The man's tone was forced-casual, and Haku noted the concern in his eyes. It was a more personal concern than a ninja worried of an infiltrator, and Haku found her curiosity piqued.

"Yes. Naruto."

Iruka simply nodded at that, before kneeling down somewhat to look her more in the eye. The gesture was a strange one, and Haku couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the action.

"Hmm. He's usually a pretty good judge of character."

Haku couldn't say that she could agree. After all, he did choose her. But at this point, she had no right to argue, nor would she ignore her newest master's benevolence.

"So... how did you meet?"

The question was unexpected, and it actually took Haku a moment before she could formulate and answer. At least the question was pleasant enough to think about; her new master was someone that she'd most likely would've been friends with, had the world deigned it so.

"Hmm. I found him asleep in the woods. I was gathering healing herbs in the forest for my master, and spotted him sleeping upon the ground."

The ninja didn't interrupt her, instead choosing to remain silent and listen.

"I woke him, and warned him that he might fall ill if he remained sleeping in the early morning cold."

And that, as they say, was that.

The other ninja took a moment, as if waiting for more, but once it was clear that her story was done, he nodded.

"Ah. I see."

There was a lull in the conversation for a minute or so after that, neither party having much to say, before the man finally spoke again.

"He's my precious student, you know?" There was a soft fondness in the man's tone, as genuine as it came, and Haku found herself turning slightly to look at the ninja fully.

"If you hurt him, I'll kill you myself."

The threat was short, sweet, and to the point. Pretty standard, as far as death threats went, but unlike most it held a sense of genuine honesty to it. It wasn't a threat made in the face of some inconvenience, or a threat made to protect one's honor or to save face. It was a threat made to protect someone precious to him. If she somehow failed, the consequence would be nothing short of death, and she had little doubt that the man in front of her would do his best to accomplish it.

"I am glad that he has one who would defend him so."

She really was. Naruto was someone that deserved it.

"Iruka, we're ready."

And, with that, it seemed her waiting was at an end. With a cautious, questioning glance toward Iruka, Haku slowly, almost torturously stood up, and moved slightly toward the door.

Destiny awaited her, and she was not one to be late.

* * *

**A/N So, a little story idea that I had. I'm not sure if I wanna write more though, so I'll leave that up to everyone else. If you want me to continue, leave a review or PM me saying so, and I shall try my hardest to continue.**


	2. Chapter 2

They let Naruto change.

It wasn't the most valuable initial observation she could've made as she walked through the doors, but it was one that added a small comfort. He was dressed in a basic orange yukata, looking nervous but clean, and upon seeing that Haku felt herself relax a little as she began to walk forward. So, it was simply her that was being ostracized. She could handle that.

Beyond that, the room was plain and bare; No decorations nor anything indicating a wedding beyond a table with some papers and a bottle of sake. The witnesses were few as well, being only a unknown older man with half his body covered in bandages, Naruto's teacher, and a man that was obviously the third Hokage, with the last member of the procession being the ninja from before, Iruka.

A bare bones, rushed wedding.

With that observation under her belt, Haku began to walk forward, trying her absolute best to look as poised and confident as she could. It had been a lesson from her previous master; With the right body language, a pauper could look like a king, a wolf could look like a sheep. A important lesson that she had permanently took to heart, and one that would hopefully help her here. But she doubted it; Two out of the five ninja here outclassed her by miles by reputation alone, and the other two were possibly just as skilled. Deception was unlikely to succeed.

But, regardless, she moved forward with forced, faked pride, ignoring the others as she moved forward. It was only twenty seven steps, a trivial amount. Fewer steps than she would've suspected for such a life-changing and significant event.

She always had expected her life changing with a sprint; A rush of motion and a flurry of attacks. She expected her previous life to end with either Zabuza being the newest Mizukage, or the both of them dead. Not wedding a boy who refused to let her join her previous master in death. A boy who claimed her as his own.

Five more steps.

Three.

One.

And, with that, she stood abreast her newest master, her hands held serenely in front of her as she looked at the others. He looked nervous, to the point of being pale. The bandaged Ninja looked almost amused, and the Hokage grim and deathly serious.

And the boy's teacher, the one who killed her master, looked... cheerful?

"Maa, Congratulations."

She honestly could not tell if he was sincere or not. It genuinely concerned her.

"So, uh..."

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, and Haku's attention immediately zoned in on him.

"Are we supposed to...?"

It took her a moment to understand what he was asking, and to her shame, his teacher caught on much quicker.

"Eh, I suppose we should get started, huh?"

A small nod from the both of them set it off.

* * *

The wedding itself was short. No vows, no words of love, just a couple of words from the Hokage, and the traditional drinking of the sake, which, beyond being surprisingly high quality, made Naruto's face crinkle up as he sipped.

And, after that, nothing. She was married. They signed the papers, and like that, they were married.

A small, almost dead part of herself felt that there should've been some revelation, some grand epiphany, but nothing came. She was still just a broken tool with a broken master, claimed by another for some unknown purpose. The only difference was the connotations; being a wife had a very different set of skills needed than being an assassin.

"Eh, congrats, Naruto. You really are the most unexpected knuckle-headed ninja, huh?"

There was a tone of teasing in Kakashi's voice, and Naruto seemed to relax a bit as his teacher ruffled his hair with a surprising amount of fondness.

"Uh... yeah."

The sight brought a small bit of Joy to Haku, and she chose to watch the pair for a moment. Her relationship with Zabuza had none of that warmth, but at the same time, it hadn't needed it. She was merely a tool. She wasn't a student nor an apprentice; She was merely a blade that Zabuza found and decided to sharpen to his preference.

A tool that failed to cut when needed, even after all the effort that had been put into it.

"Mrs. Uzumaki, If you would. I believe we have much to discuss."

Haku nearly jolted at the voice, and felt her fist relax. She hadn't even noticed the Hokage approach, but that wasn't surprising.

"Oh. Of course."

Haku took a moment to look once more to Naruto, both for permission and to reassure herself, and after a moment, he seemed to have noticed, and spoke up.

"You better be nice, old man!"

His tone was serious, and his expression even more so, and Haku felt herself tense once the disrespect and insult properly registered. She didn't expect to have to die for her master so soon, but she was ready.

But, to her surprise, the third Hokage didn't make any move to punish or even reprimand Naruto. Instead, his stern expression softened, and he offered Naruto a smile.

"Don't worry Naruto. We will merely have a small talk, nothing more."

The words seemed to satisfy the boy, and he went immediately back to his teacher, who had begun to read from a orange book in the five seconds that they had been distracted. Another act that Haku hadn't noticed.

With that, the Hokage turned and walked, with Haku following hesitantly behind him.

* * *

Sarutobi was feeling his age as he walked towards his office with the girl in tow. It wasn't often that a mission went as poorly as Naruto's first C rank turned A rank went, and it was even less common for the mission to have the effects that this one had.

After all, it wasn't often that a ninja went and found themselves a pretty little missing nin, one that, as luck would have it, was also technically *not* a missing nin nor wanted by the village. A parable in and unto itself, and that was before Naruto insisted on bringing it home with him.

Normally, he'd have said no. Normally, he'd simply have her executed and given Naruto a small bounty voucher as an apology, due to the fact that she had technically seen Naruto using the Nine tailed fox's chakra and was thus a security risk. But, as it was, she had caught the eye of Danzo and several other of the council members of the village, and they discovered once they read the preemptive report that she was valuable. Incredibly so. An ice user, the last known one of her kind, and according to Kakashi, also in possession of a co-dependency streak several miles long directed towards Naruto himself.

Little risk to the village and a massive payout via a new Kekkei Genkai, one that had been highly feared when it had been more common.

As Sarutobi finally arrived at his office, he sat into his chair and sighed. He still wanted to kill her. It'd clear up several loose ends, remove a significant security risk, and protect Naruto from what could be a infiltrator or hazard, even if it were unlikely for the girl to be so. But Naruto, once he had gotten home, had threw a fit worthy of Kushina herself once he heard that he planned on detaining and executing the girl, showing both his mother's fire and his father's will, and worse yet, Danzo had been present for his tantrum.

All it took was a comment on some old forgotten law about war brides that had never been nullified and Naruto clung to it like a leech. He was determined and worse yet riled up, and the boy practically demanded it. And Danzo being Danzo backed it, allowing Naruto and his old team mate to team up on him.

In the end, they won, and Danzo left to plan the wedding, which, knowing his team mate, was already set up and prepared before Naruto had entered the village. There were machinations there, but with his old team mate, there were always Machinations.

And now, here he was. Sitting in his office with a girl who could possibly kill his pseudo-grandson.

"First off, I would like to congratulate you on your wedding."

The girl raised an eyebrow at that, and Sarutobi couldn't blame her. She had been left as she arrived, and he doubted any girl, even missing nin, imagined that they would be wrapped in a torn kimono and filthy from rushed travel on their wedding night. In truth, it had been an oversight; The wedding happened a scant few hours after they had arrived in the village, and the girl had been immediately detained.

And Sarutobi had been too busy lamenting the situation to think on double-checking Danzo's efforts on such trivial matters as how well the girl was dressed.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

The girl was at least respectful, he'd give her that.

"So, I shall be frank. You are not trusted by neither me nor the village. As such, you'll be forbidden to join our ninja, at least for the time being."

The girl simply nodded, and it was clear that she had suspected this.

"You'll also be under continual watch. You'll be forbidden from using any ninja arts or techniques without being under direct observation of a Konoha Jounin. Any problems or law breaking will be punished swiftly and immediately, and may result in your execution."

Another nod.

"Any damages you make will be charged to your... husband, Naruto."

A third nod, this one more hesitant.

"If your relationship is considered not to be in Konoha's best interest, it will be nullified, and it's possible both parties will be executed."

There was no nod at that, and Sarutobi found the girl staring at him.

"If I cause such issues, I request that only I be executed."

Sarutobi didn't answer. He knew better than to take the girl's words at face value; It was a trivial thing to lie to someone's face. No, the girl would be instead judged by her actions.

And if she was sincere, then Sarutobi genuinely had nothing to worry about.

"That is all. I shall lead you back to your husband, and tomorrow you will be brought to T&I for interrogation."

* * *

**A/N Still trying to figure out how to make this story flow. On the bright side, once we get Haku/Naruto home, I know exactly where everything is going. One more chapter of awkward, max. **

**If you got any ideas/complaints/con-crit, feel free to tell me in a review or PM. **


End file.
